(Repeats to additional subscribers)
* Cash gold, futures hit record above $1,160 an ounce
* SPDR Gold holdings unchanged at 1,117.493 tonnes
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Gold powered to a record
above $1,160 an ounce on Monday after a rally in the dollar ran
out of steam, strong oil prices resurrected inflation worries,
and a drop in U.S. stocks stirred doubt about the economic
outlook.
Bullion, which has gained around 32 percent so far in 2009,
struck a succession of lifetime highs in November as sentiment
turned extremely bullish after India acquired 200 tonnes of the
precious metal from the International Monetary Fund.
Gold <XAU=> was quoted at $1,162.85 an ounce by 0354 GMT,
up $14.65 an ounce from New York's notional close on Friday. It
hit another record at $1,164.35 in thin trade also driven by
technical buying after bullion surpassed previous records.
"We're in unchartered territory. It's going to move fairly
freely. Momentum becomes quite a big driver of prices. You
could see the hint of safe haven buying returning," said Mark
Pervan, ANZ's senior commodities analyst.
"There is increasing expectation that the market could
deleverage risk towards the end of the year. There's a view
that we could see some selling in equity markets, that lowering
a risk would also benefit gold prices."
U.S. gold futures for December delivery <GCZ9> added $16.7
an ounce to $1,163.50 on the COMEX division of the New York
Mercantile Exchange, having struck a record at $1,164.80.
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR
Gold Trust <GLD>, said its holdings stood at 1,117.493 tonnes
as of Nov 20, unchanged from the previous business day.
[] Trading was thin, with Japanese speculators away
on holiday, but dealers noted buybacks and limited scrap sales
by jewellers in Asia on expectations that gold prices could
rise further.
The dollar headed lower in thin trade on Monday, giving up
some of last week's gains, while oil <CLc1> rose above $78 a
barrel on heightened tensions between Iran and Western nations.
[] []
In theory, a weaker dollar makes dollar-priced gold cheaper
for holders of other currencies, while strong oil prices raise
the metal's safe-haven appeal against inflation.
For a graphic on gold, oil and dollar's performance, click
on the link:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/119/MKT_GLD$OIL1109.gif
"You've got more high-profile hedge funds visibly investing
in gold. That's yet another factor encouraging moves into gold
by the wider investor community," said David Barclay, commodity
strategist at Standard Chartered in Hong Kong.
Options traders are betting that gold will hit $1,200 an
ounce or higher by early next year, and strong options interest
could in turn lift underlying prices further into the uncharted
territory. []
U.S. stocks fell for a third straight day on Friday as
investors took weaker-than-expected results from computer maker
Dell <DELL.O> and homebuilder D.R. Horton <DHI.N> as a further
sign the recovery would be anemic. []
For a timeline on gold's rise to record, click
[]
For a factbox on how to invest in gold, click
[]
PRICES
Precious metals prices at 0354 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg Day ago pct MA 30
RSI Spot gold $1162.85 $14.65 +1.28% +29.64% $860.10
77
Spot silver $18.69 $0.23 +1.25% +56.01% $11.29
64
Spot plat $1459.50 $18.50 +1.28% +1.04% $1372.13
67
COMEX gold $1163.20 $12.00 +1.04% +1.43% $1089.45
77
Currencies
Euro/dlr $1.493 -$0.004 -0.29% -0.01%
Dlr/yen 88.91 -0.20 -0.22% -0.77%
(Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
((lewa.pardomuan@thomson reuters.com; +65 6870 3834; Reuters
Messaging: lewa.pardomuan.reuters.com@reuters.net))
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